Banias River | |
---|---|
Physical characteristics | |
Source | |
• location | Banias spring [1] |
• coordinates | 33°14′55″N 35°41′40″E / 33.24861°N 35.69444°E |
Mouth | |
• location | Dan River |
• coordinates | 33°11′45″N 35°37′32″E / 33.1957°N 35.6256°E |
Length | 9 km |
Basin features | |
River system | Upper Catchment of the Jordan River |
Tributaries | |
• left | Sa'ar Stream Pera' Stream |
• right | Guvta Stream Sion Stream [2] |
The Banias ( Arabic: نهر بانياس, romanized: Nahr Baniyas; Hebrew: נחל חרמון, romanized: Nahal Hermon) [3] is a river flowing from the Golan Heights to Israel. It is the easternmost of the three main northern tributaries of the Jordan River; together with the Dan River and the Hasbani River, it forms the Jordan River's upper catchment (UCJR). [4] Israel has included the stream in the Hermon nature reserve.
The main source of the Banias River is the Banias spring, located at the southern base of the Hermon mountain range and contributing a discharge of 67·million m3 annually. From there the stream flows south for nine kilometers before draining into the Dan River just north of Sde Nehemia. [1] [5] Along the way, it drains the Guvta Stream (right), the Sa'ar Stream (left), the Pera' Stream (left), and the Sion (Ar.: el-'Asl [6]) Stream (right), with a total drainage area of 158 km2. The total annual streamflow of the river comes to 106 million m3. [4]
The banks of the river abound in willow trees, oriental planes, silver-leaf poplars, Tabor oaks, Palestine oaks, Mt. Atlas mastics, terebinths, carobs, ferns, giant canes, and various vines.
The stream is home to a variety of fluvial fish, including longhead barbel, large-scale barbel, Damascus barbel, and tilapia. Living and roaming around the stream or in it are wild boars, Syrian rock hyrax, swamp cats, nutria, and Indian porcupines. [7]
Birds that frequent the vicinity of the stream include rock doves and Western rock nuthatch. [8]
Banias Spring is the spring contributing most of the discharge to the Hermon stream.
Rainfall and snowmelt of Mt. Hermon recharge the main tributaries of the UCJR: (1) Dan (252 x 106 m3 annually); (2) Snir also known as Hatzbani (118 x 106 m3); and (3) Hermon also known as Banias (106 x 106 m3) (Table 2 and Fig. 2).[ dead link]
Nine kilometers from its source, the Hermon Stream meets the Dan, and together they form the Jordan River.
במי הנחל רבים הדגים, ביניהם: בינית-ארֻכת-רֹאש, בינית גדולת-הקשקשים, חפף, בינון, לבנונית ואמנוּן.
Sometimes, rock hyrax can be found, lying on the piled-up rocks, and flocks of rock doves nest in depths of caves. You can occasionally spot Neumayer's Rock Nuthatch, which flies from Mount Hermon, and black sweet-water snails (melanopsis praemorsa) lie on the floor of pools.
Banias River | |
---|---|
Physical characteristics | |
Source | |
• location | Banias spring [1] |
• coordinates | 33°14′55″N 35°41′40″E / 33.24861°N 35.69444°E |
Mouth | |
• location | Dan River |
• coordinates | 33°11′45″N 35°37′32″E / 33.1957°N 35.6256°E |
Length | 9 km |
Basin features | |
River system | Upper Catchment of the Jordan River |
Tributaries | |
• left | Sa'ar Stream Pera' Stream |
• right | Guvta Stream Sion Stream [2] |
The Banias ( Arabic: نهر بانياس, romanized: Nahr Baniyas; Hebrew: נחל חרמון, romanized: Nahal Hermon) [3] is a river flowing from the Golan Heights to Israel. It is the easternmost of the three main northern tributaries of the Jordan River; together with the Dan River and the Hasbani River, it forms the Jordan River's upper catchment (UCJR). [4] Israel has included the stream in the Hermon nature reserve.
The main source of the Banias River is the Banias spring, located at the southern base of the Hermon mountain range and contributing a discharge of 67·million m3 annually. From there the stream flows south for nine kilometers before draining into the Dan River just north of Sde Nehemia. [1] [5] Along the way, it drains the Guvta Stream (right), the Sa'ar Stream (left), the Pera' Stream (left), and the Sion (Ar.: el-'Asl [6]) Stream (right), with a total drainage area of 158 km2. The total annual streamflow of the river comes to 106 million m3. [4]
The banks of the river abound in willow trees, oriental planes, silver-leaf poplars, Tabor oaks, Palestine oaks, Mt. Atlas mastics, terebinths, carobs, ferns, giant canes, and various vines.
The stream is home to a variety of fluvial fish, including longhead barbel, large-scale barbel, Damascus barbel, and tilapia. Living and roaming around the stream or in it are wild boars, Syrian rock hyrax, swamp cats, nutria, and Indian porcupines. [7]
Birds that frequent the vicinity of the stream include rock doves and Western rock nuthatch. [8]
Banias Spring is the spring contributing most of the discharge to the Hermon stream.
Rainfall and snowmelt of Mt. Hermon recharge the main tributaries of the UCJR: (1) Dan (252 x 106 m3 annually); (2) Snir also known as Hatzbani (118 x 106 m3); and (3) Hermon also known as Banias (106 x 106 m3) (Table 2 and Fig. 2).[ dead link]
Nine kilometers from its source, the Hermon Stream meets the Dan, and together they form the Jordan River.
במי הנחל רבים הדגים, ביניהם: בינית-ארֻכת-רֹאש, בינית גדולת-הקשקשים, חפף, בינון, לבנונית ואמנוּן.
Sometimes, rock hyrax can be found, lying on the piled-up rocks, and flocks of rock doves nest in depths of caves. You can occasionally spot Neumayer's Rock Nuthatch, which flies from Mount Hermon, and black sweet-water snails (melanopsis praemorsa) lie on the floor of pools.